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Two builders lead way

A new
Builder magazine report about housing markets confirms what most central Ohioans know: Our
market is dominated by Dominion Homes and M/I Homes.

Dominion Homes built 23.9 percent of central Ohio’s new homes last year while M/I built 17.8
percent, according to the publication.

Of the nation’s 50 largest homebuilding markets, only a handful are so dominated by two
builders: Baltimore; Cincinnati; Columbia, S.C.; and Fort Myers, Miami and Naples, Fla. Cincinnati
is dominated by Fischer Homes and Drees Homes.

Dominion and M/I Homes once controlled more than 50 percent of the central Ohio market, but that
share has dropped as M/I Homes focused its growth in Texas and the mid-Atlantic region.

In central Ohio, Fischer Homes was a distant third with 6.4 percent of the market, followed
closely by Westport Homes with 6.3 percent.

With 2,814 homes built in the area last year, central Ohio ranked as the 33rd-biggest market for
new homes in 2013. Cincinnati, at No. 42, was the only other Ohio city to crack the 50 largest
markets.

Sales outlook dialed back

The government housing agency Fannie Mae lowered its housing outlook this week during its
quarterly economic forecast.

Fannie Mae raised its outlook for the economy as a whole for the rest of the year from 1.5 p
ercent growth to 1.9 percent by the end of the year.

At the same time, the agency anticipates that home sales will be lower this year than last
because of rising interest rates, a harsh winter and a reluctance among consumers “to take on
big-ticket purchases such as homes,” said Fannie Mae chief economist Doug Duncan.

“This leads us to believe that 2014 will finish lower in total sales figures than 2013, and that
2015, while stronger than 2013 and 2014, will not be the breakout year some are expecting.”

Remodelers fall just short

U.S. remodelers weren’t as busy as expected during the second quarter of the year, but the
future looks bright for the industry, according to the latest Residential Remodeling Index from
Metrostudy, a division of Hanley Wood.

The index rose 4.3 percent year-over-year in the second quarter after a 6.5 percent gain in the
first quarter. Metrostudy predicted a 4.5 percent gain in the second quarter.

Metrostudy predicts that the industry should reach a full recovery from the recession by
2015.